My son is turning 7 on November. That means he will be in first grade… in June if we are in the Philippines, last March if he started attending a Korean school, and in August if he goes to an international school.

Since we are here in Seoul, he will be attending an international school. And I have narrowed down our choices to 3: Seoul Foreign School, Yongsan International School of Seoul, and Dwight International School.

For those who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, these schools have a common eligibility requirement as set by Korean law:

one or both of the student’s parents holds a foreign passport; or

in case both of the student’s parents are Korean nationals, the student must have resided in a foreign country for at least three years

I spent months researching on which school to send our son to. Even when I was still in the Philippines, I was already keeping in touch with the Directors for Admissions of these 3 schools. And they were all prompt with their replies and patient with my questions. But, mind you, I haven’t made up my mind until this week.

So, to help out parents who will be coming over or who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, here are the requirements and contact details of each school I listed above:

Seoul Foreign School (email: admissions@seoulforeign.org)

Passport copies of parents and child

Copy (front and back) of Alien Certificate of Registration

Child is a fluent English speaker

Request for confidential teacher recommendation (to be passed by teacher through email)

SFS Admissions test

Writing test

Dwight International School (email: admissions@dwight.or.kr)

Copies of passport of parents and student

Proof of eligibility

Copy of birth certificate

Assessment of student health form

Bus application (if applicable)

3 color pictures

1 letter of recommendation from homeroom teacher

Academic records for the current year plus previous 2 years

Most recent standardized test

Yongsan International School of Seoul (email: admissions@yisseoul.org)

Completed application for admission

Copy of passport of student and parents

Copy of birth certificate

2 passport size pictures

Copy of school records

Copy of recent standardized results

Teacher recommendation form

Health information or physician’s examination form

For an easier comparison of rates, here is a tabular presentation for the 3 school’s 2013-2014 rates:

Items

Dwight School Seoul

Seoul Foreign School

Yongsan International School of Seoul

Tuition

17,745,000 KRW +6,300
USD

18,370,000 KRW +7,960 USD

17,545,000 KRW (A)+4,605,600 KRW (B)2,000 USD

Application fee

100,000 KRW (payable at time of application)

300 USD (non-refundable; to be paid when application is submitted)

300,000 KRW (payable upon interview)

Assessment Fee

300,000 KRW (due before interview and assessment)

Registration fee

550,000 KRW (billed when student is admitted)

400,000 KRW (yearly for both new and returning students)

Capital fee (one time)

5,000,000 KRW (non-refundable)

5,000,000 KRW

5,000,000 KRW

Returning student capital development fee

1,000,000 KRW (non-refundable yearly fee)

Book deposit

200,000 KRW (refundable)

Bus Fee

2,300,000 KRW

2,500,000 KRW

2,050,000

ELL fee (requirement to take an English proficiency exam)

2,000,000

Technology

150,000

School Uniform

1,000,000 KRW (approximately)

Not available

Not available

School Meals (daily)

5,000 KRW (daily)910,000 KRW (full year)

Parents’ Association Fee

25,000 KRW (non-refundable)

Honestly, I would have really wanted my son to get into the Seoul Foreign School (SFS). My husband and I were concerned though because the Admissions Director was quite straightforward when she told me that because my son is currently not enrolled, this might work to his disadvantage. This, despite the difference in school year schedule of the Philippine school system. He has already graduated from Kindergarten. It would be impractical for us to enroll him again in a Kindergarten class so we opted to wait until the August opening. We just can’t pay 300USD for his application fee knowing that he might possibly not make it because of this particular issue or SFS might recommend that we enroll him in their Kindergarten class which finishes in June. Hmmm… impractical and the tuition fee rates are quite steep. Unlike the other 2 schools, SFS requires this 300USD payment prior to submission of the application form. The other 2 schools receive the application form and the supporting documents and the applicant will only be billed of the corresponding fee upon schedule of testing/interview.

With this monetary consideration, it would have been impractical for us to go testing for each school. Though hubby’s company is paying, we have to spend wisely as though we are the ones paying. That’s exactly the reason why hubby has his company’s confidence. We decided to focus on one school instead.

We opted for Dwight International School. It is the newest international school here in Seoul and its campus and facilities are new. It carries with it the history and qualifications of The Dwight Schools from New York, London, Canada and Beijing. And, of course, I didn’t fail to check the qualifications of its teachers and staff:-).

August will be a big event in our family. We are officially sending our Firstborn to Grade 1.

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